Automatic lifting mechanism.



" Wadi z No; 850,647. PATBNTBD APR. 16, 1907.

- G. HOLMES. I

AUTOMATIC LIPTING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED IE]3.-4.1907. 1

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110,850,647. PATENTED APR. 16, 1907.

G. HOLMES. AUTOMATIG LIFTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILEDIEB. 4, 1907'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

GRANT HOLMES, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR TO ROBERT HOLMES &BROTHERS, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC LIFTING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application filed February 4:, 1907- Serial No. 355,534.

To all whom it ncay concern:

Be itknown that I, GRANT HoLMEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Danville, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic LiftingMechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to automatic lifting mechanism formine-cars, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the device shownand described in Patent No. 804,950, issued to the assignee ofthepresent invention November 21, 1905. p

The object of the present invention is to provide the movabletrack-section with a vertical guideway whereby the said section will becaused to move in a vertical plane and oneend thereof will be heldagainst either lateral or longitudinal movement, to provide the oppositeend of the track-section with a pivotal support adapted to be movedlongitudinally of the track-section to shift the pivotal center thereofto compensate for the arc of the.circle transcribed about said pivotalcenter and to so construct said pivotal sup ort that the ends of therails of said trac c-section will be positively moved into accuratealinement with the rails of the main track, and, further, to provide themovable parts of said track-section with rollers, thereby diminishingthe friction and facilitating the movement of said track-section.

With these objects in view my invention consists of certain novelfeatures of construction hereinafter to be described and then more fullypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a liftingmechanism embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same,partially broken away. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, and Fig.4 is a transverse section of the vertical frame of the liftingmechanism.

In the drawings I have illustrated my in vention as embodied in one formof lifting mechanism. This lifting mechanism may be of any suitableconstruction; but I have here shown and I prefer to use that shown anddescribed in the above mentioned patent, which consists of a verticalframe comprising the upright members 1 and a fluid-pressure cylinder 2,having a piston-rod 3 connected I I with the cables 4, which extend overthe pulleys 5, sup orted at the upper end of the frame 1, an havetheirlower ends connected to the forward end of the movable rail-section 6.The admission and exhaust of the fluid to the tank 2 is controlled by athreeway valve 7, which is provided with an actuating-arm 8, connectedby a rod 9 with an arm 10 on a rock-shaft 11, which extends transverselyof the track-section 6 and is'provided with a trip-lever 12, whichoccupies a substantially vertical position when the fluid is cut offfrom the cylinder 2. shaft 11 is provided with a second arm 13,

rock-shaft 16, extending transversely of the main track 17, and isprovided with a triplever 18, the relation of the trip-lever 12 to thetrip-lever 18 being such that when the lever 12 is in a verticalposition the lever 18. is in a substantially horizontal position, andvice versa. Thus it will be seen that as a car passes from the inclinedtrack 19 onto the forward end of the track-section 6, which is turned atan angle to the main portion there of, so that it will occupy, asubstantially horizontal position, the body of the car will come incontact with the trip-lever 12, actuating the rock-shaft, and therebyshifting the valve 7 to admit the pressure fluid to the cylinder 2,moving the piston and the piston rod 3 downward and elevating thetrack-section 6. As the track-section approaches its uppermost positionthe inclination of the said track-section is reversed, and the carpasses off the rear end of the same onto the main track 17. As it doesso it engages the triplever 18, which is then in a vertical position,and depresses the same, thereby again closing the inlet-valve andconnecting the cylinder with the exhaust.

As above stated, so much of the mechanism as has been described isincluded in my former patent and forms no part of the present invention,which consists in providing the forward end of the track-secti on 6 witha vertical guide and providing the rear end thereofwitha movable pivotalcenter. This I accomplish by providing the inner faces of the uprightmembers 1 with inwardly-extending guideways, which are preferably formedby the oppositely-facing angle-irons 20, secured to the uprights 1 andforming a guideway between them. The forward end The rockconnected by arod Hand an arm 15 with a 1 of the track-section 6 is supported on atransverse axle 21, which extends beyond the opposite sides thereof andis provided with rollers 22, journaled on the projecting ends thereof.The length of the axle 21 is substantially equal to the distance betweenthe inner walls of the uprights 1, and it will be apparent that theconstruction is such as to allow the axle 21 and the forward end of thetrack-section 6, which is rigidly secured thereto, a free and easyvertical movement, but to hold the same against all longitudinal orlateral movement. As the opposite end of the track-section 6 does notmove vertically with the forward end thereof, it is necessary to providesome means to compensate for the arc of the circle described by theforward end of the track-section about the pivotal support at the rearend thereof. To accomplish this, I provide the rear end of thetrack-section with an axle 23, which is rigidly secured beneath the sameand projects beyond the opposite sides thereof and is provided on theprojecting ends with flanged wheels 24, which are journaled thereon andadapted to engage the short track section or guide 25, which extendssubstantially parallel with the main-track section 17 and preferablyconsists of short rails mounted on opposite sides of the track,extending substantially parallel therewith and located in a slightlylower plan than the main track 17, whereby the wheels 24 of thetrack-section when in engagement with the guide 25 will support the rearend of the track-section at the proper height to bring the same intoaccurate alinement with the rails of the track-section 17. The guides 25are located at the ends of the track-section 17 and extend for aconsiderable distance in each direction beyond the ends of the rails ofsaid track-section, thus allowing abundant space for the movement of thetrack-section 6. Thus it will be seen that as the lifting mechanism isactuated and the forward end of the track-section 6 moved about thepivotal support at the rear end thereof and held against longitudinalmovement the pivotal support at the rear end thereof will be moved awayfrom the vertical plane, in which the forward end of the track sectionis moving, a distance equal to the arc of a circle which would bedescribed about said pivotal support, if such support was fixed and theforward end of the rail-section free to move longitudinally.

When the track-section is in its lowermost position, the rear end.thereof is moved. some distance from the adjacent ends of the main track17, thus leaving a space' between the two sections of track andproviding a buffer, and thereby preventing the return of any car afterthe same has been discharged from the track-section 6.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of cona I H struction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, and means for elevating one end thereof, of apivotal support for the opposite end of said track-section movable in alongitudinal direction, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, means for elevating one end thereof, and meansfor holding said end against longitudinal movement, of a pivotal supportfor, the opposite end of said track-section movablein a longitudinaldirection, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination, with apivoted track-section, and means for moving the same about its pivotalcenter, of means for shifting said pivotalcenter, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, and means for elevating one end thereof, of aguideway near the other end of said track-section and extendinglongitudinally thereof, and a guide carried by said tracksection andadapted to engage said guideway, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, and means for elevating one end thereof, ofguideways on the opposite side of said track-section and extendinglongitudinally thereof, and guides carried by said track-section onopposite sides thereof and adapted to engage said guideways,substantially as described.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, and means for elevating one end thereof, oftracks near the other end of said tracksection extending longitudinallythereof, an axle secured near the end of said track-section, and wheelsjournaled on said axle and adapted to engage said rails, substantiallyas described.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, means for elevating one end thereof,vertically-extending guideways, and guides carried by said ends of saidtrack-section and adapted to engage said guideways, of a pivotal supportfor the opposite end of said track-section movable in a longitudinaldirection, substantially as described.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, means for elevating one end thereof, avertically-extending frame, guideways on opposite sides of said frame,an axle rigidly secured near the forward end of said track-section;rollers journaled on said aXle adapted to engage the guideways on saidvertical mem bers,'of a pivotal support for the opposite end of saidtrack-section comprising an axle secured thereto, Wheels journaledonsaid axle, and a fixed guideway for said wheels, substantially asdescribed.

9. In a deviceof the character described, the combination, with amovable track-section, means for elevating one end thereof, of

a pivotal support for the opposite end of said track-section movable ina longitudinal direction and adapted to form a buffer when saidtrack-section is in its lowermost position, 15

substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- GRANT HOLMES. Witnesses:

FRED. B. PENWELL, WALTER O. LINDLEY.-

